art & writing by jaysen matthew waller

Cecil…renewed call to Wake Up

Whether Walter James Palmer, as a proud trophy hunter, thought this hunt was legal or not (though apparently he was found guilty of poaching in a previous incident) is really beside the point.
After shooting Cecil, this majestic lion, with an arrow and then allowing him to experience pain and suffering for 40 hours as his life drained out of him, he finally ended Cecil life, beheading and skinning him.
The disconnection from another life, the perceived separation, the false hierarchy and inflated ego that leads to such cruelty, lack of empathy and recognition of another’s suffering, along with the lack of awareness of the consequences and repercussions of such actions is what concerns me.
I do not know what fate will befall Mr. Palmer. And as a practitioner and cultivator of peace I cannot encourage more harm or an increase in suffering. But, I do hope that in the wake of such tragedy, an opportunity arises for not just Walter James Palmer, but all of us, to wake up.
~j
“We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“I do not care for happiness which is sought at the price of others’ suffering.”